Because It's Our Job
by Mint-9
Summary: A Turk saga focusing mainly on Elena and Tseng but also Reno and Rude. PoVs can change each chapter and timeline shifts (flashbacks). Written in noir style, getting grittier in later chapters. Pairings: eventual Elena x Reno, tragic Tseng x Aerith, one-sided Tseng x Elena, hinted Rude x Elena, but maybe others as well.
1. Chapter 1

It was Elena's first day on the job. She had been promoted after Reno got injured in a fight against Avalanche. She was so nervous that she would screw up on her first day that she didn't sleep at all last night, and she really should have. She had a meeting with Tseng first thing and he started his day early.

She walked into Turk headquarters, which was located on the top level of Shinra HQ right below the President's offices. Just being this high up, figuratively and literally, was enough to scare any cadet shitless. _Just hold it together_. She repeated over and over again.

The Turk members were real busybodies. She had heard rumors, from Reno mostly, of a former Turk named Cissnei who deserted not too long ago. She had to wonder if this had anything to do with her promotion. They told her it was because of Reno's injuries, she was to start on trial basis, but she was barely finished with her training, and besides that she was not the best in her class, not even third best.

She checked in with security and made her slow ride up the elevators to the top floors. She kept checking her watch. These elevators really took too long. She was going to be late. She huffed and puffed, but there was nothing she could do about it. She was trapped in this glass cage for another 5 minutes at least. She should have managed her time better. She felt a migraine coming on and saw tiny specs in the corner of her eye.

When she got off on her floor, she only had 2 minutes until her meeting with Tseng. She had never really talked to him before, only saw him when he came by the Academy to train cadets. But Tseng was a very busy man and most of her training was under Rude. Reno came by often too, but mostly only to flirt with the female cadets. It gave her migraines remembering him on campus, surrounded by all those girls and having the time of his life, acting like he ruled the world. He really annoyed her sometimes, well most times actually.

She walked right in, too busy to check in and started to run as she looked for Tseng's office. She'd never been up this high before and the halls were wide and confusing. Nothing was labeled, or even numbered. _Shit! _She couldn't just open every door to see if one of them was Tseng's. As she was running down the hall she plowed right into someone who just came from a door. She fell flat on her butt and it made a loud cracking sound. _Shit!_ That would be the phone in her back pocket. Turk issued she only got it yesterday. Now she would have to ask for another one.

It felt like she ran into a brick wall. Oh yes, here came one of her migraines again. She looked up to see what she hit and her vision was a little blurry. "Elena," a hand reached out to help her up. A strong hand! She was pulled up in one sweeping motion to her feet. She felt dizzy, trying to get her vision back. "Are you okay?"

She recognized that voice. "Rude?" she asked looking at the blurry figure in front of her. She then remembered he was her superior. "Ah, I mean, Rude, Sir."

"Wow, you're in a hurry!" he remarked.

_Oh no!_ Her meeting. "I have to get to Tseng's office," she yelped, clearly in panic mode. "Please, please," she was begging him, pulling on his jacket, not remembering her position. "Tell me where it is."

"Calm down," he straightened her out. "It's right here." He pointed to the door he had just come from.

"Oh," she sighed. She then felt embarrassed over her outburst. "I see, thank you." She tried to make herself sound as professional as she could.

"He's expecting you." Rude told her. "Go straight in."

She saluted him and he smirked at her under his glasses. She felt like an even bigger idiot. He opened the door for her and she walked in.

Tseng's office was huge and intimidating. It was bare except for a large desk at the end. Tseng was sitting behind it, writing something on his desk. Behind him the entire wall was a window overlooking Midgar and everything in his office was green tinted from the view.

He didn't stop writing, or even look up to acknowledge her presence, and she didn't know if she should sit down or introduce herself or wait for him, so she just stood there mulling the choices over in her head.

He then stopped writing and looked up at her, his face was not welcoming. "You're 2 minutes late," he remarked, eyeing her like a hawk.

"Sorry, Sir," she spoke; her voice was a little too high. "Won't happen again, Sir." Damn, she was fidgeting.

He placed his hand on the bridge of his nose and shook his head. He looked annoyed, or maybe that was how he always looked she'd never seen him, you know … normal. "Just sit," he commanded her. She sat in the chair in front of him, wincing when she felt the pieces of her broken phone in her back pocket.

"Now," he began in his usual 'work voice,' it was voice that was calm and collected, but had within it a tinge of hostility warning you not to fuck with him. "I'm sure you've been briefed on all the basics at the Academy, but his is not the Academy. This is the real thing," he eyed her suspiciously as he said that.

"Yes, Sir!" Elena piped up. "I know, Sir, that is why I am here. I placed …"

He just nodded stopping her from continuing. "I know of your records," he said. "But I need to explicate to you that things are different out in the field. In the Academy you follow rules, but here you follow me. Whatever it is I tell you to do, you do. What I say goes, so to speak, even if it is in direct conflict with other orders. You obey my commands above all others."

Elena stared at his mouth as he said those words. A thought formed in her mind, _what about Heidegger? Wasn't he head of the Turks? If she followed Tseng's orders over his …_

"Are you clear on this?" He asked and his voice sounded more commandeering than usual.

"Yes," she then replied plainly as her head cleared.

He looked her over for a moment. "Good," he then said. "You may go."

"Thank you, Sir," Elena stood up and saluted him. He just waved her off.

"Oh wait, before you go."

"Yes," Elena turned around.

"Keep your phone on you always, even when you sleep, keep it next to your bed. Don't forget it, ever. I will need to contact you at any and all times."

About that …

Elena held her breath and then exhaled slowly. "Sir, about that," she began.

He glared at her, "Is there a problem?"

"Well," she reached into her back pocket bringing out the broken phone pieces, "there's been an accident."

His face hardened she thought he was going to blow up like a bomb monster. "You will be issued another phone immediately, talk to Joanne at the front desk. And nothing better happen to this one," he warned. She felt like digging herself a hole to crawl into and die.

"Yes, Sir, thank you, Sir. I won't happen again, it was a one-time thing. Usually I never …"

"Elena," he interrupted. He looked irritated and tired; she hoped it wasn't because of her. _Shit! _She never knew how to hold her tongue. "That will be all, you are dismissed," he finished and went back to his paper.

"Yes, Sir," Elena saluted and walked out the door feeling mortified. At least she didn't get fired on her first day. She had that to be grateful for, but her head was killing her. It **was** a migraine. She had to go to the Infirmary, fast. She past the front desk and then stopped, turning back around. _Priorities, Elena! _She needed to find Joanne and get a new phone.

* * *

After Elena had left Rude stood in Tseng's office, casually leaning against the wall, looking out onto Midgar below. "You think she's right for this?" he asked glancing over at Tseng sitting at his desk.

"Honestly, if she were any other cadet I would have fired her right then and there," Tseng growled.

Rude smirked. "She does have a certain charm."

Tseng shrugged, feeling weary. "She's the only one …capable of this job," he said and looked over at Rude, his face serious.

"If she were smarter she would figure us out you mean," Rude responded.

Tseng shot his hand up to his mouth, signaling Rude to be quiet. Rude just nodded. "I'll call you with the details later." Rude just nodded again and left. When he was gone, Tseng looked out into Midgar. No matter how hard he searched, he knew Aerith wasn't in it anymore. She'd fled with Avalanche out of the city overnight. Even more distressing, the President was murdered by Sephiroth late last night and they had told no one yet. Waiting for the right chance to introduce the successor, Rufus. He hadn't slept at all and he needed time to think.

* * *

She arrived at the Infirmary just in time. Her head was pounding. She took the pills the nurse had given her. She just needed to rest her head for a little while. She lay down on a spare bed in the middle of the room. She could only lie on her side and tried her best not to move her head – any movement only made it worse.

Tseng, he was different than what she had expected. What he had said about taking orders from him, what about Heidegger? She figured it was because he got his orders from Heidegger; maybe Heidegger couldn't be trifled with to deal with the underlings? It was strange, but in truth she didn't mind taking her orders directly from Tseng one bit. _Oh_, she thought, _he's so handsome_.

She closed her eyes and became lost in a fantasy. She was standing on a balcony overlooking the sea. The wind was blowing through her head. Tseng walked up behind her and placed his hand on the back of her neck. She turned to look up at him. He leaned down, his lips …

"Well, well, lookie what we have here." She flashed her eyes open, rudely awakened from her lovely daydream. She couldn't turn her head to look at whom it was but she didn't have to. In front of her, with the curtains around his bed pulled back was a grimacing Reno.

_Oh, great! _Just what her migraine needed.

"The new recruit," his aqua eyes sparked at her. "I just love fresh meat."

Ugh – God! Couldn't he see that she was in pain and just wanted to sleep? She wanted to tell him off, but reminded herself that he was her superior. She just glared at him. "I have a headache," she replied, hoping he would get her drift and leave her alone. He didn't seem to regard her and just kept going.

"Yes sirrie, the nurses have been very kind to me, and I mean very kind indeed. I get jello whenever I want it." He winked at her.

_God, gag me! _She couldn't move she'd become numb from the pain. She watched him suck on a plastic dessertspoon trying to get all of the jello he could out of the little jello cup they'd given him. She watched him and wondered how he ever became a Turk. She noticed that he had a bandage on his arm and a splint on his leg, elevated by the gurney. Those Avalanche people must have roughed him up pretty bad.

"So what are you in for?" He asked swinging his head over in her direction.

"Headache," she replied curtly.

"Hah!" he snorted. "Headache? Take an aspirin, no need to be here."

"Oh, I see you've never had migraines before," she snapped at him. She was irritable right now.

"Ooh," he howled at her and pointed his plastic spoon at her. "That attitude won't get you far around here, sweet thing."

She calmed her temper. "I just need to lie down for a little while, then I'll be fine, back to work in no time." She tried to give him a little smile.

"Rest while you can," he just shrugged, "I'm not Tseng."

_I noticed_. "Thank you," she just responded weakly.

"Hey, cheer up," he leaned in closer to her. "I'll let you in on a little secret."

"Hmm?"

"Last night," he spoke in a voice just above a whisper, and looked around to see if there was anyone in the room. "Sephiroth reappeared – he broke in and killed the President."

She was shocked but all she could do as lay there. _Wow, what a shock_.

"They're getting Rufus ready right now for his 'big debut.' I'd watch out around here if I were you, sweet thing," he shook his head at her as he told her that.

She couldn't say anything; she was numb both physically and mentally. All of the sudden her newly issued phone rang. It was Tseng. "Yes," she answered.

"I'll meet you in 5 minutes, Sir," but before she could say goodbye he had hung up on her.

"That'd be Tseng," Reno laughed, "the man with no use for platitudes."

She sat up but not without great pain and effort.

"Welcome aboard," Reno saluted her. "Enjoy being Tseng's lapdog."

As much as she was thrilled at the prospect his words didn't sound comforting. Her head was pounding as she left the Infirmary to meet Tseng.


	2. Chapter 2

A/N: Flashbacks are written in _Italic_.

* * *

The damp, humid air was so thick she felt that she could cut the air into bricks and make a house out of them. She didn't know that by being a Turk she would have so many assignments outside of Midgar. She had thought that Soldiers were the ones who got deployed, and that Turks worked out of Midgar alone, but now she was seeing that that was not the case. They had taught her wrong at the Academy.

Midgar had seasons, and never had humidity this thick. She missed Midgar right now for more reasons than the weather. Gongaga was such a backwater place. She was a city girl at heart.

She wiped the sweat beading from her forehead as she climbed a stump, to have a vantage point to look for Reno and Rude. They ran off somewhere, leaving her, as usual. Rude was easy to work with but when he got together with Reno the two were such buddy-buddies that she was left on the sidelines as they went off to do their own thing. She really didn't feel like part of the group, or at least _their_ group.

Reno was back from the Infirmary, his injuries healed. Now, seeing him in action, she realized how dedicated and skillful he was at his job. A bit underhanded and reckless at times, but his methods were effective. Working with him, and Rude together, changed her perspective on the flame-haired Turk. He became more (in her eyes) than the lazy playboy she knew from before. _Well, maybe just a little more_, she thought He still annoyed her to no ends.

"Ugh," she sighed, the heat was getting to her. "Where are they?" They were supposed to be on the lookout for Avalanche, you know, because that was their job. According to their informant, they were to be coming through the area any moment now.

She got tired and sat down on the stump. Damn, she needed a drink. She never drank so much until she started working with these guys. Her thoughts flashed back to a week before, when she was in Junon with Tseng, Reno, and Rude. She wondered if they were avoiding her because of what happened that night.

_The icy blue lights at the bar were so comforting. She just stared at them, never could she imagine that she would be here, with Tseng, outside of work. Well, to be fair, Reno was here as well. She glanced at Reno who was beside her; he was flirting with the lady bartender as he popped peanuts into his mouth. Ugh. She tried to crane her neck to look at Tseng at the other end of the bar. He had unceremoniously joined them for a drink, but then just sat in the corner, drinking to himself. _

_When she was at the Academy, everything was always so disciplined. But now that she was a Turk, she saw just how stressful and chaotic the job could get. She wondered how Tseng had coped with it all these years. She'd heard he'd been with the Turks ever since his graduation from the Academy, almost 20 years earlier. _

_He never seemed that old to her, anyways ..._

_Tseng, of course, made first in his class and was recruited to the Turks immediately after his graduation. He trained under Veld, one of the most famous Turks ever, besides Vincent Valentine, although no one had heard from that Turk in years._

_She looked Tseng up using the employee database. She read the files dealing with his record - which was immaculate. That was what was open for general knowledge, but some things (actually a lot of things) were deemed classified and she couldn't gain access to them. From what she did gather, he rose quickly up in the ranks after an assignment, one of his first on the job, involving a little girl living in the Slums. She didn't know the details, most of it was labeled in the classified sections of his dossier, but it seemed Tseng, being the only one who knew anything about it, was given full responsibility for the job. Not only was he the only one responsible, but he was also the only one who had executive access to the files. No one else could even touch the file, and nothing was known on these secret files until just recently when the Scientific Research Division took complete control. Which reminded her, she wanted to go see if those documents were released yet. She could at least check from SRD on what was inside those files. When she got back to Midgar she had to check it out. In them she might find a clue as to why Tseng acted the way he did. _

_Even though she didn't know him very well, she could tell Tseng was not his normal self. Something seemed off - perhaps that's why he decided to join them on this drink. He gave in without much effort from Reno's insistence, telling him he should just forget about it and come have a drink. She wondered what was bothering him so. Was it the President's death? But Rufus was in control now, and honestly he handled Shinra better than his father ever did, and everyone felt the same way. It had to be something else. She was curious to find out what but didn't want her developing feelings for him to be known. If Reno or Rude got a whiff of her devotion to her boss, not only would she never hear the end of it from them, but it also might affect her job. That and she couldn't deal with rejection, not from him. She admired him too much for that. _

_She wanted to know more about Tseng, and she wanted to 'fit in' but she also felt that they should be doing more. Even if they were not as enthusiastic about their jobs as she was she still felt that they shouldn't be here drinking on a night like tonight, especially since Sephiroth and Avalanche were still out there. _

_All of the sudden she felt a tap on the back of her shoulder. She twirled around. A lower-class soldier member just stood there, looking at her. She felt the need to vent. "The second this job gets boring they want a drink," she uttered sarcastically. The young soldier then went over to Reno who slurred something at him. God, he's drunk already! The boy then went over to Tseng who brushed him off. He then walked around checking the tables and jukebox before leaving. What a weirdo, she thought and then returned to her drink. She'd ordered what Reno called a "girlie" drink, and she had barely touched it, while Reno was on his fifth shot of vodka already. Tseng nursed his glass of red wine and he looked as if deep in thought. He looked so beautiful pensive. Her heart fluttered._

_A sad jazzy song came on from the jukebox and she watched as Tseng took another sip of wine and stared off into the space in front of him. She could tell the music was affecting him because his shoulders slumped and he looked, well… he looked defeated. _

"_Elena," she jumped in her seat a little. Reno was talking to her. He scared her. She was staring at Tseng. "Why do you look at Tseng so much?"_

_She blushed feverously. "No reason," she returned to her drink. "I was just wondering," she asked, after taking a small sip. "Why is he, you know, down so much?" She looked over at Tseng one last time, he didn't seem to overhear them talking. Honestly, he looked like he was off in his own world. She then looked at Reno, wanting an answer._

"_Oh, him," Reno just shrugged, as if the answer was evident. "He's upset over a woman."_

"_A woman?" Elena remarked, trying to sound nonchalant, but her heart sank over those words. Just what she had hoped it wouldn't be. _

"_Yeah," Reno then smirked, giving her a curious look. "It's always a woman that dooms a man."_

_Elena rolled her eyes at him. Jerk. Why couldn't he spare her feelings for Tseng? She then drank all of her drink down through her straw in one long sip. It was a frozen cocktail and it gave her a brain freeze. "Damn!" she cried as she held her head. _

_Reno just laughed at her. At least she now had Tseng's attention. He told her to go back to her room and that they had a big day tomorrow. Reno then said something sarcastically about work and Costa del Sol. As she left the bar she overheard Reno joking to Tseng about her inability to hold liquor, calling her a 'lightweight.'_

_Ugh. She drank too fast, and now she felt dizzy. Was she drunk? She walked back to their hotel. The conditions they stayed in weren't exactly luxury – creaky beds, leaky faucets, moldy wallpaper, and no heat or air conditioning just loud overhead fans. As she came upon the hallway leading to her room she almost toppled over. _

"_Hey, hey, there," a voice came out and so did a hand helping her up._

_She looked up to see Rude holding her. This was the second time he had to help her onto her feet after a tumble. She felt embarrassed and unprofessional. She was a grown woman not some floozy damsel in distress. But being in his arms felt too good. He was like a wall, so big and muscular. She was safe, and the feeling was new for her. She'd never even had a boyfriend before. She didn't want to leave his arms, not just yet anyways. _

"_I, I," she tried to get her speech down at least. He helped her to her door, it being right next to his. She just smiled weakly at him. "Thanks."_

_He was still holding onto her. She could smell aftershave and liquor on him and the two smells mixed together were intoxicating. "You all right?" he asked._

"_Mmm," she just moaned. She looked up at him. "Do you want to come in?"_

_She felt his body tense but he just nodded silently after some thought. She opened her door and walked in, taking off her shoes and socks, and then her jacket. She was still mad over learning that Tseng was in love with some girl … she should have someone feel that way about her. She looked at Rude who was sitting on a chair, his arms crossed. He could do._

_She smiled seductively, or at least she tried to be seductive, she wasn't used to doing this sort of thing. She walked over to him and before she knew it she had taken off her tie and was unbuttoning her blouse. She sat on his lap, straddling him so her legs dangled behind him – he was so tall. He sat up straighter in the chair but didn't say a word. She thought she saw him blush but couldn't really tell because she hadn't turned on the light. The only thing that lit up the room was the garish Mako powered streetlights from outside. She then realized what she was doing. _

"_Oh God!" she yelled and flung herself off of him. She then lay down on her bed and started to cry. After a minute or two she felt a wet washcloth on her forehead. And honestly it felt good so she didn't fight it. She then began to tell him of her dilemma. About Tseng not paying attention to her, about his being in love with another woman, and about how he would never love her. Her confidant didn't stop her or chastise her for having a stupid and silly schoolgirl crush. He only folded the washcloth and reapplied it to her head. Before she knew it she was fast asleep. _

She felt embarrassed about what had happened, but Rude never said anything about it and she wasn't going to bring it up. She wondered if he told Reno. Not that she cared …

All of the sudden she heard voices. They sounded familiar. She began to walk into a clearing that was surrounded by thick jungle brush. She could now tell that those voices belonged to Reno and Rude. They were so loud.

"So Rude, who do you like?" That would be Reno.

"Come one, tell me who you like."

"Tifa." Elena was surprised; she had no idea that Rude would go for **that** type of girl.

"But, I thought you, Elena." _Damn!_ He did tell Reno.

No, she likes Tseng." She was going to kill Rude.

"But he likes that Ancient." Elena froze, now the mystery woman had been revealed. Aerith Gainsborough: the woman who fled from Shinra with the help of Avalanche. _But they were the enemy …_

"Who do you like?" Rude was asking Reno. She didn't know why but she wanted to hear this.

"Hmm, that's a hard one." Elena rolled her eyes. Typical - Reno liked every girl. She wondered, offhandedly, if he even had a type.

All of the sudden she saw a young blonde man and two women in front of her. The man just shrugged, "What are they talking about?"

She huffed, "They're always so stupid talking about who they like." She remembered Tseng wasn't like that though; he was private and evasive about his feelings. "But Tseng is different." She said that loud so that Reno and Rude could hear her.

The man turned around. That face. "They're here!" she yelled and this got Reno and Rude's attention. The man and the two women then prepared themselves for a fight and Elena signaled to her comrades. "You take care of this, I'll report to Tseng."

She ran through the forest until she was out of sight of the battle. She took out her phone, quickly dialing Tseng's preset number on her phone. He picked up immediately. "Tseng, Avalanche is here. Reno and Rude are engaging them in combat."

"Which from the group are they?" Tseng then asked. He was in the area. She could hear the chopper blades in the background as he spoke.

"The man is definitely Cloud, the ex-Soldier and the other two are women. I'm not exactly sure which ones they are from the group though."

"Can you describe them?" Tseng asked her, a little too eagerly.

"Well," Elena hesitated, "one girl has … very large breasts." That was the only way she knew how to describe her. "I think it's Avalanche member Tifa Lockhart."

"Good," Tseng replied, his voice sounding tense, "and the other?"

_Hmm, Rude likes busty girls_. "The other," she tried her best to describe, "she's more … ladylike and she's wearing pink."

There was a silence. "Um," Elena broke the silence. "Do you know the other girl?"

Tseng took in a deep breath. "Aerith." His voiced danced around her name for a moment, but he then just, quite tersely, told her. "Don't engage any further with the enemy and pull back for now. I'll tell Reno and Rude to do the same."

"But, but, Sir," she replied.

"Don't worry," he said, disregarding her confusion. "Our little friend will keep an eye on them."

"Very well, Sir," she said and he hung up. She flipped off her phone and watched as Tseng's helicopter landed a little ways off in the distance. She wanted to ask him about that 'Ancient,' Aerith, but she would have to first learn more about her from his files, and she would also have to work up the nerve.


	3. Chapter 3

"Drink up Rude," he raised his glass over at his bald-headed pal. "How long have we been a team?" Rude raised his glass back at him. He got a little choked up thinking about all they'd gone through, but hell it had been fun. "There have been hard times, bein' a Turk and all, but I'm glad I did it." He looked over at Soldier boy and his crew. "I even got to meet a bunch of wing nuts like you." He wasn't so sore about what happened in Sector 7 anymore, and besides he was on vacation.

Elena huffed. She was upset again. She was always mad at him over something. He figured she was almost there, to that point where she couldn't get him out of her head. That was the tactic, hot and cold, worked like a charm every time.

Soldier boy went to leave and she yelled at him. "You're lucky all right. Now get out of my sight!" She snarled, "The next time we meet I won't be so nice."

Reno gave his buddy the 'look'. "Uh oh, the bird's angry, better watch out now," he whispered.

Rude snorted a laugh. Elena glared at them. Rude raised his glass, "To the Turks, to Reno."

"Here, here," he raised his drink. "I'll drink to that!" He raised his glass at Elena but she just rolled her eyes at him. _Little miss attitude_. Her sourness gave him even more incentive to crack that nut open. He wondered what she'd sound like in complete ecstasy. She'd probably blow up and pop like a bomb monster from all that pent up anger. He laughed out loud at the thought.

She looked over at him. "What's so funny?"

"I just thought of another thing to toast to," he said as he smirked wickedly at her.

She looked curious. "What?" she asked a little too innocently.

"To orgasms," he toasted himself.

"I'll drink to that," Rude remarked. They started to laugh and discuss some of their 'conquests.'

He then glanced over at Elena. She was silent and her head was down, she was staring at her hands in her lap. _Why was she like this all the time_?

"Oh come on," he sighed, lifting her chin up with his finger. "What's the matter now?"

Her face was beet red. She smacked his hand away. "I'm just not in the mood," she replied and turned away.

"Wait a minute," he said, thinking it over. He stared her down, not believing it as the words came out of his mouth. "Have you never had an orgasm before?" He stared in disbelief at his buddy Rude, the bald man just shrugged.

"We…well of course I have," she stammered. She was so red and riled up. God, that was it. _She's a virgin! A virgin!_ A V.I.R.G.I.N. Of all his luck. He licked his lips and leaned in closer to her. He could tell being this close got her all hot and bothered. Oh she needed this all right. She needed this badly.

All of the sudden Shinra troops burst in through the door. "Sirs," they saluted him and Rude. They then saw Elena, "Er, Ma'am."

Oh great, just when things were getting interesting. "What a drag," he sighed.

The Shinra soldier in front looked taken aback, "Ww, what was that...?"

"Right now we're off duty and can't run off to save your butts." He explained it to them further.

"We know you're off duty, but..."

_Ugh_. "If you knew that, then don't bother us! Lookin' at you is makin' me sober." He needed more booze now.

The soldier who seemed to be the leader then spoke up, "But you all have orders from headquarters to look for him too!"

He didn't budge.

"All right, that's it! We'll get him without any help from the Turks, just you see!" They ran out of the bar, and shouted,"And don't think that headquarters isn't going to hear about this!"

When they were gone Elena looked over at him, "Reno, do you think that was really such a good idea?" She crossed her arms, trying to make her case, "I mean is that the way a professional, a Turk would act?"

"Elena. Don't misunderstand." He explained to her, "A pro isn't someone who sacrifices himself for his job. That's just a fool." _Trust me sweetheart I've been at this job way longer than you have!_

Elena tried to make her plea with Rude. "Rude...?"

Rude looked at her and then at him. He looked at Rude and just shook his head. _No use getting worked up over nothing_. Rude then looked at Elena and shook his head returning to his drink.

Elena stood up and banged her hands down on the table. "Well, I don't buy that! Goodbye!" She ran out of the bar.

"Are you sure that was the right thing to do Reno?" Rude asked once she left.

"Relax," he said, wanting another drink, but he just didn't feel like getting up to get another one. "She's not a child. Let her have her way now..." he then further explained.

Rude just sat there in silence. _Aw, fuck_! "Well you don't have to act so gloomy," he then sighed. "Come on lets go after her." Rude looked pleased at that and they paid their tab and went outside. It was the dead of night already. _Damn_! How long where they in that crappy bar anyways? _Maybe he should drink less_…

He slung his electric rod over his shoulder and deeply inhaled the night air. Smelled good, like jasmine and something else. Midgar never smelled this way. _Damn_! His vacation … oh well, can't cry about it now. It was playtime.

"Let's go find these fools," he remarked to Rude and they made their way to the central Pagoda.

When they walked into the central square they were ambushed. A silver projectile whizzed past his head, nipping him on the cheek. "Shit!" he yelled over at Rude who had taken refuge behind a rock. "Ninjas!" _Who the fuck throws metal stars?_It seemed like such a wussy way to fight.

He looked up and saw that there were three on the roof and two others near the gong. He made a gesture to Rude that he would take the ones on the ground. Rude nodded silently at his command and quickly made his way to the roof. He quickly came out from his hiding position and ran to the post beside him. Throwing stars whirled past him but none could catch him. "You're too slow suckers!" he yelled out to them. He should've left with those troops earlier, because this was actually proving to be fun.

He took off again, this time heading straight for them. One throwing star landed in his right thigh but he just ignored it. All the booze he'd drank earlier helped with that. He stopped behind a stonewall and pulled it out. The ninjas then jumped over the wall and landed deftly on their feet in front of him. He turned his electric rod up to maximum fry and lunged at the one on his right, missing as the ninja was too quick and easily hopped aside. The other ninja came at him, punching him in the side. He yelped and stepped back.

He was going to have to change tactics to beat the both of them. He called his pyramid spell and trapped the one on the left inside it. Try as he might - no one got out of that, well unless attacked. But he was going to have to keep the other ninja busy so he didn't have a chance to help out his buddy. He started swinging his rod at the ninja who moved left and right to avoid his blows, but Reno was a pretty agile cat too, and he couldn't miss all off them. He finally got one good shock into the ninja on his side and he cried out in pain as the electrical currents surged through his body. He then kicked him in the head and the ninja fell over.

"One down," he smirked and turned to the other ninja trapped in the pyramid. He slung his rod over his shoulder and sauntered smoothly over to the awaiting ninja braced for an attack inside of his prison. "Aw," he shook his head, "you make this too easy." He stuck his rod inside the pyramid and fried the ninja crispy. He fell to the ground and the pyramid disappeared.

"Aaaaaaaahhh ….."

He turned around to see a body clothed in all black fly from the roof and land on the ground on his back with a loud crack. He then looked up to see Rude on the roof, cracking his knuckles. "Come down here," he yelled, "we gotta find Elena."

All of the sudden the doors burst open from the house in front of him. Corneo was running as fast as his fat little legs could take him. Behind him two ninjas were carrying Elena and that other girl - the stupid one - he forgot her name. He went to chase after them but the fat man threw a smoke bomb at him. He started hacking, _shit_!

Rude rejoined him and handed him a handkerchief from his lapel pocket to wipe his eyes and nose with from the smoke. Soldier boy then burst forth from the same door, followed by the Ancient, and the salty pilot.

Rude looked down at him sadly shaking his head, "Elena …"

_Yeah, yeah, I know_, he thought, _and it's all my fault_.

"Hmm... that Corneo is good at escaping..." he then told the Soldier boy as his party approached them. He turned to Rude, "Let's go, Rude. We'll give them a taste of what the Turks can do." Rude nodded his confirmation and ran off to track them down.

He turned to Soldier boy, "If Elena is in his hands, that's going to make things a little difficult," he explained. _Shit!_ He hoped Elena wouldn't be de-flowered by that old loser. "And uh …" he still couldn't remember the other girl's name.

Soldier boy spoke up, "It's okay. Corneo took Yuffie from us and without Yuffie, there's no way to get our materia back."

Hmm, he was starting to like Soldier boy, just a little better. "Don't misunderstand." He wanted to make that clear, "We have no intention of joining you. But for now, we'll agree

not to bother each other. That's all."

"That's fine. We have absolutely no intention of cooperating with the Turks either." Soldier boy shrugged, "Now, uh, just what direction did Corneo run off to?"

_Fair enough_. "Nice attitude." He then told him, pointing his stick off to the north. "Here's a clue, it's the place that stands out the most." He then took off to join Rude at the Dachao mountain path


	4. Chapter 4

She sat on the stone bench by the koi pond and drew her silk kimono closer to her body as the morning chill proved to be a colder than she'd thought it'd be when she first stepped out of her room earlier that morning. She had some fish food that they provided at the inn for guests and she threw the pellets in, one by one, into the pond. The big koi circled around each other in a slow monotonous motion, each trying to get to the food, but first they had to see it in front of them. They were all different colors and patterns and it created a kaleidoscope effect of harmony in the water.

_So pretty_.

She wondered what Tseng was thinking about right now. Their vacation was to end later on that morning, as they were to meet him back in Junon later that afternoon for further orders. He had said something about an ancient temple somewhere and that they needed to find a 'key' for it.

Their vacation had been short lived, and she was actually sad to see it go. That is why she came here, to the koi pond, to spend her last moments of vacation relaxing. She began to understand what Reno had said yesterday about living while you can. _Maybe work wasn't all there was to life_? But, it certainly seemed to engross hers. _Maybe she should listen to them more often_, and she hated to admit it, but she should especially listen to Reno more. He had been a Turk for much longer than she had, and perhaps he had adapted to juggling their demanding work and what little downtime they received. _Maybe that's why they all drank so much_? Even so, she thought that there must be a better solution than drinking all the time.

None of them seemed to have any family, or loved ones, and the thought saddened her. _Would she turn out the same_? Even if she was dedicated to her job, she still wanted that life – the kids and husband.

They spoke a lot of who liked whom and about their conquests, and Tseng was in love with a woman who hated the Shinra and who had sided with the enemy – Avalanche. She wondered how Tseng felt bout that. He was so dedicated to Shinra and to his job. But then again, the Avalanche members themselves weren't so bad. They came to her rescue yesterday, even if she was captured with an Avalanche member, they still didn't have to help the Turks, but they did.

She was so confused about how she should feel about things, but then again her job wasn't to think. It was to take orders.

"What'cha thinkin' 'bout, kiddo?" Reno plopped down beside her. He was in a man's rented kimono, provided by the inn. She had to admit, he looked good in it. It had a red and brown-checkered pattern and the colors suited him. The red could be seen as representing his fiery temperament, while the brown represented his earthy laid-back quality. The two mixed to create – him.

Elena sighed, she wanted to tell someone all she was thinking, but she didn't feel that close to him, not yet anyways. Although, she thought that he could understand her feelings, or at the very least be able to relate to them. He had been a Turk for so long and was still able to have an outside life – what little time they had outside of work. She then realized that she knew nothing about his life outside of work, or about where he was born and raised.

"Where are you from?" she then asked, all of the sudden becoming interested.

"Midgar," he responded and took a handful of fish pellets from her bag and threw them all into the pond. The koi swarmed around the food voraciously. He watched as they fought for the food. "It's a fish eat fish world," he then said and she saw a slight frown appear on his face as if he was thinking about something other than fish.

"How did you become a Turk," she asked. She'd never heard his story, or Rude's for that matter.

He shrugged his shoulders, "They found us on the street when we were teenagers and recruited us."

"Us?"

"Yeah, Rude and I," he looked over at her, "you didn't know?"

"No," Elena shook her head. She was so interested in Tseng's life that she never thought about her other teammates. No wonder he and Rude were so close. They grew up together.

"What about your family?" she asked.

Reno huffed and threw his hands down as if telling her to let it go. "Listen Elena, don't pry." He stood up, turning away from her. "We're leaving in an hour, get ready." He walked off to his room leaving her there.

_Well, that's a first_, she thought, _Reno being defensive_. He always pried so much into her life; she figured he didn't care about his own. _Maybe he had issues like everyone else_?

She reminded herself to look into Tseng's declassified files when she got back to Midgar but now she also wanted to find out more about Reno and Rude and about what happened before they were recruited into the Turks. For instance, did they even go to the Academy? Were they orphans? Did they have _any_ family?

She knew it sounded nosey, but she just wanted to get to know them better, all of them. Perhaps she could be of some help. She then threw the food pellets in one by one again. The koi slowed their frenzied pace and began their dance once again.

* * *

Three days later …

He had asked her to dinner. It was spur of the moment. He saw the surprise in her eyes. She wasn't that easy to fool with her emotions. He had known for a while actually, even before the rumors spread. Maybe he was a monster. Yes, some would call him that. He asked her out for all the wrong reasons. She would find out his motives and hate him. That would be better, if she hated him. He deserved nothing less.

He saw Aerith together with that boy. Hands clasped, they sat together on that gondola ride. He resembled her first; maybe that's why she chose him as her saviour in the end. All the while, he was happy to intrude upon their lovely evening, but the look on her face as he caught the keystone from their little spy. That look tore him up the most. If she would've looked at him in anger or hatred, that he could stand, but that look of her's. It was a look of pure guilt and it meant that she knew what she was doing. _If she could move on why couldn't he? Why couldn't he just forget about her?_ He laughed at himself. He was such a fool. He'd spent half his life chasing Aerith, in all ways possible.

The murals on the decrepit stonewalls portrayed an ancient civilization, the Cetra. They looked as if they lived in harmony with the world around them. _What did Aerith know about the Planet? Did she know how to get to the Promised Land?_

"Is this the Promised Land?" he then asked himself aloud. "No, it can't be…"

All of the sudden a strong force swept up on him, he almost fell and had to catch himself. What is this? He turned to look. A black figure knelt before him, then stood revealing himself and waving about a long deadly sword. "Sephiroth!" _Damn_! Of all his bad luck, this was the worst.

"So you opened the door," the silver devil smiled. "Well done." His Mako green eyes glowed wickedly in the dimly lit temple making him appear to be more demon or monster rather than human.

"This place … what is it?" Tseng asked, trying not to show his apprehension and growing fear.

"A lost treasure house of knowledge," the devil replied in perfect nonchalance, revealing years of aristocratic life, no matter what they said it was always matter-of-fact as if they were bored of everything but themselves. "The wisdom of the Ancients …" he hissed that last part.

Sephiroth raised his arms. He resembled a false deity or idol that the pagans used to worship in their huts before the great knowledge came about. "I'm becoming one with the Planet," the devil then said.

"One with the Planet?" Sephiroth had gone mad. It was all true.

Sephiroth lowered his arms and turned. "You stupid fools. You have never even thought about it. All the spirit energy of this Planet." He started to swing his giant sword around. It made an evil whooshing sound. " All its wisdom... knowledge...I will meld with it all. I will become one with it... It will become one with me."

_What did he want to become, a God_? Tseng was in disbelief. "You can do that?" he asked.

"The way... lies here." Sephiroth took a step closer to him. He readied his gun, not wanting to bring it out until the right time. Sephiroth was unstable and unpredictable, but he didn't want to provoke a fight with the war hero, especially alone as he was.

"Only death awaits you all. But do not fear." _Shit_! He was too fast. In one deft and precise movement the devil stabbed him through with his Masamune. Tseng fell to the ground. The last thing he could sense was the taste of blood and sand from the temple floor in his mouth.

When he came to he slowly made his way out of the temple, collapsing at the entrance. He sat leaning against one of the columns. Hopefully Elena would come back and find him, if not then maybe his life, everything he ever did, was all in vain. He felt that life drain away from him and pool around beneath him in bright red. He was cut down pretty bad, worse than that time before, but she was there. She healed his wounds, and his pride. If this was the end, then he regretted not being able to help her more.

The Slums of Midgar was no place for young innocent girls, and yet it was the place she had grown up in. He swore to Zack that he would look after her, but he actually had been doing that all along, ever since he first met her. He was just starting his career as a Turk and she was just a slip of the girl. She was eight and he had been twenty-two. He never thought about their age difference as being a problem, not until later on, when she blossomed into a young woman and his admiration of the little girl turned into … adoration over the woman she'd become.

Adoration: that was the perfect word for it. He adored her more than anything. No use living in denial. It was what it was and he was old enough to know. And know better. Veld told him that, to never get too attached. He wished he had taken the wise old man's advice, but then again if he had he would've never known her love - the only thing that brought happiness into his life.

He closed his eyes, wanting to live out his last moments in the memories. His thoughts floated back to those days when he was the happiest, when he found redemption in an alleyway and of the night the lights danced on her pale naked skin.


	5. Chapter 5

Recap: Tseng still sat at the entrance to the temple, slowly dying. He began to remember a night that happened four years earlier …

* * *

Nighttime was a dangerous time in the Midgar Slums. Even if the place had no real day or night, it seemed all the seediness and in truth the real 'essence' of the city came out to play once the sun set from below the plate. Anything went in the city that never saw a sunrise. It was where he found himself on this cold night in early spring, walking through the red light district in the Sector 3 slums.

The neon lights dazzled and nearly nude women enticed from within filthy glass windows. He walked at a leisurely pace though throngs of pimps and hawkers, the girls were kept behind glass, or at worse behind locked doors. "Five Gil for a peek, fifty for the whole thing!" one hawker invited him in, speaking in a low voice right into his ear as if it was a secret treasure to be had just for him. He just took another drag off of his cigarette and continued on. His pace belied his desperate purpose, but he didn't want to draw attention to himself.

He stopped at a three-story townhome that was way past its prime, but still bedecked in some of its old glory with cast iron, columns, stucco, and a wrap-around veranda. He saw two guards at the door, almost hidden in the darkness of the night. The house had no outside lights, and indoors was nothing but red light glowing through thin satin curtains. It made the place look deserted, but he knew its true purpose.

He threw his cigarette out onto the wet street and made his way up the steps. The two men eyed him cautiously. He kept his Turk uniform on, not caring if they knew his identity. The more he looked like he was from Shinra the better as Shinra employees were the Slum's best customers. They said nothing as they searched him, not finding any weapon on him they were satisfied, both taking a door from the double doors to open for him.

He stepped inside. He was met with the color red, everywhere. Crimson velvet couches and upholstered chairs, cherry wood floors and crown molding, scarlet Victorian wallpaper, vermilion glass lamps that glowed eerily with yellow light, and everywhere was decorated in red lace, feathers, and beads.

A woman in a see-through red and black lace nightie welcomed him, kissing him sloppily on the cheek. She led him into the large room on the right where there was a fireplace and an oil painting of a completely nude woman with flame red hair spread eagle on a red satin bed that nearly took up the entire back wall. She poured him a glass of red wine the color and consistency of blood. He thanked her and she winked at him, showcasing her generous cleavage for his pleasure. He smiled at her, but his smile did not reach his eyes.

She then backed away and from behind her walked in an older woman dressed in a tight red embroidered velvet dress that covered her entire body from the neck down. She was extremely thin with sleek black hair fashioned in a tight bun on the top of her head, and she wore a lot of makeup with high drawn-in black eyebrows and deep crimson lips. Her face was very rigid and taut looking as though the skin was being held from the back of her head and pulled.

"Good evening kind Sir," the older woman bowed. She examined his face carefully and then his dress. He flashed his hand up as he took a sip of wine, letting her see the gold and jeweled rings he wore on his fingers. He had "borrowed" them from the President for just this occasion.

She gave him an appraising smile as she took a seat in front of him. "What can _we _do for you this evening?" she asked, not beating around the bush. She had been in this business for a long time, he could tell, seeing how she got right down to business not wasting time for small talk.

He didn't like wasting time either. "I'm looking for a girl," he then replied and before she could say something obvious, like 'we have many girls' he immediately reiterated. "A _certain_ type of girl."

"What does the gentleman prefer?" she asked.

"Brunettes," he replied. "Especially ones with green eyes."

She looked into his eyes, he didn't like those small black beads searching his the way hers did, and fighting the urge to look away he stared back at her.

"Special girls," she said not eyeing him as carefully as before, "carry special prices."

He reached into his pocket withdrawing a bundle of Gil that was clasped with golden Gil clip. Her beady little eyes grew at the sight. Normally, girls cost about 40 Gil an hour or 100 Gil a night, the more beautiful she was the more her value would increase.

He counted out 1000 Gil and placed it on the table in between them. She grabbed the money and then smiled lazily at him. "We do have something very special," she then said. "That I think the gentleman will enjoy. Please, follow me."

He followed her up the stairs to the second floor. Rows of doors lined the hallway on both sides. She led him to a room on the left down the hall. He looked back at the stairwell trying to see if he could see anything on the third floor. That was probably where they kept their 'special' girls. She unlocked the door for him, holding her hand out to the room before them, "Please enter." He walked into the room noticing that it was bare except for a bed and that everything was painted green. He turned around and she abruptly shut and locked the door. He was locked in. _Smart witch_, he thought.

He immediately sat down on the plush green bed and lifted his right pant leg taking off something wrapped in a cloth that was taped close to his leg; he did the same for his other leg as well and then took something out of his lapel pocket. He quickly and deftly assembled a small pistol the size of a billiard ball, it took him less than 10 seconds, and put six bullets into the chamber. He slipped on a pair of black gloves with the fingers cut out and held his gun up as he waited beside the door.

Aerith was kidnapped three hours ago from outside her home in the Sector 5 slums. Time was of the essence.

It took about five minutes and then the door slowly creaked open. He waited in the darkness as a busty brown haired prostitute walked into the room. "Hello!" she crooned loudly, smacking her gums as she went to check the bed. In one swift movement he came out from his hiding place and grabbed her from behind. He held his hand tightly around her mouth and pointed his gun at her temple. In the scuffle, her wig fell off revealing that she wasn't even a brunette. He almost laughed out loud about not getting his money's worth, but this was not the time or place for that.

"Tell me," he whispered in her ear as she whimpered pitifully under his grip. "Where the new girls are kept. If you scream, I will kill you." He looked straight into her eyes as he said the last part his eyes devoid of any emotion. "Understand?"

Her maroon eyes widened and she nodded. He loosened his grip. "Up…pppp…stairs," she stuttered, perhaps out of fear.

"Good girl," he consoled her and then knocked her on the head with the butt of his gun. She fell to the floor. She would be out for at least a few minutes and he had to hurry.

He walked out the door. It was quiet and still, belying the true nature of what was happening behind those locked doors. He climbed the stairs as stealthily as a cat until he reached the third floor. He peeked out into the hallway before him. It was dark and dimly lit by the same vermilion lamps as the rest of the house. There were several doors on this floor as well, but at the end stood a bulky guard and in his arms was an automatic rifle. _Shit!_He was out gunned. And it was a pretty good guess to say that that was where Aerith was being held.

He steadied himself. It wasn't so much his life he was worried about, but Aerith's. If he failed, she would never be rescued from this hellhole. He needed a distraction. He took a long drawn in breath of air and kissed his gun. _Old friend be good to me tonight_.

He went stealthily back down the stairs but then started to walk up them, very loudly. He threw himself onto the floor as he reached the top. He looked up at the guard who hadn't budged, his hand still holding the gun across his chest. "Ow," he winced as he picked himself back up and then stumbled forward. "Where's the bathroom," he blurted, trying to act like a drunk who had lost his way.

"Downstairs," the guard just replied not amused.

"Ah, okay, okay," he waved his hand at the man and turned around like he was going back down the stair, but in an instant he grabbed his gun and twirled around shooting and aiming at the guard's head but he missed and shot his shoulder instead. The man screamed, "Little shit!"

and started firing. The bullets whirled all around him. Tseng ducked and rolled back down the stairs to the second floor.

Doors flung open all around him. There was screaming and panic once they saw him there, gun in his hands and the burly brute from upstairs barging down the stairs yelling that he was going to kill him. Tseng knocked a man out who was the closest to him and flew in the open room. The girl inside screamed and ran out but as she was leaving she was shot multiple times by the guard who had come after Tseng. She fell dead onto the floor. This caused everyone else to panic even more. Some thought that they would be safer inside and slammed their doors shut, while others started running trying to get out. The two guards from outside, now realizing the situation, were trying to get up the stairs but couldn't with all the people running down them screaming.

Tseng ran to the wall as bullets sprayed across the room. The guard barged in, shooting his way into the room, but Tseng was waiting for him and kicked him hard in the gut once his clip was spent. The large man fell back slightly and went to change his clip but Tseng delivered a swift kick to his head. The man fell backwards and Tseng grabbed his gun, but first changed the clip. Now it was a real fight, he had real firepower now.

The two guards from downstairs had now made their way up. Tseng took refuge behind the door shooting them one by one as they appeared. When the firing stopped he peeked out from the door. Several bodies lined the staircase. He could hear sirens in the distance.

He bounded up the stairs like a mountain lion and found it empty. He tried the door at the end, and of course it was locked. He shot the lock and kicked the door open. He burst into the room and saw a single bed with metal posts and attached to one of those posts was Aerith, sitting on the tiled floor, chained by her hands. She stared wide-eyed at him. Without a word he ran over to her and tried to undo her chains but they were thick and padlocked. It was too delicate of a situation to shoot the lock. He then looked at the bedpost itself. It was flimsy and shoddily made.

Without a word she knew what he was going to do and she positioned herself as far away from the bed as she could. He grabbed a hold of one of the posts and put his leg against the metal bed frame. With great exertion he pulled the bedpost off of the bed frame and Aerith slipped her chains down the post freeing her hands from the post but her wrists were still chained. He broke the lock with the butt of his gun. He wordlessly took her by the hand and led her to the door. He heard footsteps and voices from down stairs. It sounded like the authorities.

"We have to get out of here," he told her. She nodded. He got his gun and stood up.

"Wait!" she cried. "There's a lift. It's how they bought me up here." She walked over to the wall on her left and started searching it. "I was blindfolded but brought straight up here, in this room. So there must be a secret compartment somewhere."

He went over and tested the wall, pushing on it but nothing happened. He then looked at a red lamp in the corner, it was the same as the others throughout the house. He pulled on it and behind them a wall opened. It was the lift. They quickly went inside just in time as there were voices shouting at them from the hallway. Tseng closed the door to the lift and since there was only one button he pressed it and they started to go down.

The ride was slow and it made creaking sounds as they went down. "I think it leads to the basement," Aerith told him. "I couldn't see but it was damp and dusty."

She went through an ordeal, he knew, even if she was putting on brave face now. He reached over and embraced her, holding his hand on her head. "You're safe now," he softly spoke to her, comforting himself by those words as well as her. He had her now, and he would fight to the death, come that may.

The lift then came to a stop. He looked at her "Stay here," he told her. Her eyes were still wide and watery - she had been crying, a lot. She just nodded silently at him. He opened the door. It was eerily quiet and empty. He took a step forward and all of the sudden he felt dizzy the air was being filled with a green gas. He slumped to the floor gasping for breath. His gun fell at his side as his hands flew up to his mouth and eyes trying to keep out the poisonous air. Then the strangest thing happened, the gas dissipated and a cleansing wash spread over him. He looked up to see Aerith hovering over him. She had done something and it cleared the poison from him. He knew she didn't have any materia on her, especially heal materia. It must have come from somewhere within her. He didn't have time to ask her about that though. "Thank you," he then told her as he got back up on his feet again.

She smiled weakly, "No, Tseng, thank you."

"How touching."

Tseng whirled around, drawing his gun, and placing Aerith behind him. The Madam walked out from behind some old crates. "I knew something was off about you," she then tisked at him. "Just look what you did to my beautiful place, and my lovely guards." She held a poison gas gun in her hands.

"It's no more than what you deserve you bitch!" Tseng shouted at her. "Kidnapping young girls from the streets and forcing them into prostitution."

The old woman just snorted, "Lowly wretches," she hissed, "it's not as if anyone loves them and no one will miss them when they're gone. They are dispensable."

"That's where you're wrong," Tseng growled. He held his gun up.

"Oh," the old woman sighed. "You're going to kill me now. I think not. One push of my finger and you'll have extra concentrated poisoned gas straight into your lungs. What you witnessed before was just a tease."

Tseng didn't move and kept his hand steady, his gun aimed at her head in between the eyes. Aerith then stepped forward. "Aerith get back," he yelled at her, not wanting her in danger.

Aerith looked over at him and smiled as if telling him, 'let me handle this, okay.' She then held out her arms and cast Shell over both herself and him.

Tseng then started to laugh. "Such a clever girl you are Aerith," he said and walked closer to the old witch.

"What, what did she do," the Madam stammered. She pressed the trigger on her gun but the poison just dissipated once it reached the shell around Tseng's body. "What does this mean?" she asked, trying it again but to no avail.

"It mean's you're dead," Tseng replied pointedly and shot her in the head. Her head flew back from the blow. She slumped onto the floor and was no more.

Tseng and Aerith fled out the back. The authorities were still searching the place, trying to piece together what had happened, but they would never find out because they were both out of sight before anyone noticed.

They stopped running and took refuge in a deserted alley. Tseng collapsed, taking deep breaths. His side hurt he looked down and saw blood running down his arm dripping from his fingers onto the wet street. He had been shot and didn't realize it until just now. "Oh no," Aerith sighed and knelt down beside him, "you're injured."

He took off his jacket and saw that the bullet had hit him in the shoulder. He saw an exit wound so at least the bullet wasn't still inside. "Let me help you," Aerith spoke. He looked up at her curiously but let her help him without resisting. He watched as a soft green glow emanated from her hands. She cast Cure on his shoulder and the wound cleared immediately. He regarded her thoughtfully. All of her help tonight was done without the use of materia. She really was amazing.

_If my life's work is protecting this magnificent creature, then it is a life well spent._

They sat there in the alley huddled together for a while. In the distance a tomcat out on the prowl crooned his lovesick heart out and a husband and wife started their day off by bickering. It was the only way the could tell that the sun had risen.

"I have to get home, my mother is probably sick with worry," Aerith then said.

Tseng took her hand, "I'll walk you home." She took his hand and they walked hand in hand all they way to her home in Sector 5. He saw her to her door.

"Thank you, again Tseng," she said softly. Her voice was strained - she was very tired.

He kissed her forehead. "Get some sleep," he said and then turned to walk away.

"You too!" she called out. He couldn't help but smile the entire way as he walked back to his apartment. He was taking the day off today.


	6. Chapter 6

He tested the door, turning the knob all the way. It was unlocked and there were scratch marks on the keyhole. He locked it this morning. He **always** locked it. He opened it and walked in slowly, his hand on his gun. Everything was dark, except for the neon lights which flickered outside illuminating his studio apartment in patterns of color alternating between pink and green, blue, yellow, and then pink and green again. He sighed and placed his gun back into his shoulder holster. He crossed his arms. "You can come out now," he spoke aloud.

From the darkest corner of the room Aerith took a step forward. A siren could be heard off in the distance. "How did you know?" she asked as she wrapped herself tightly with her right arm. She looked embarrassed about being alone in a man's place, if her mother only knew, but she was a girl from the Slums and of course she knew how to jimmy a lock.

"Well," he huffed in annoyance, "for starters, a real intruder would have locked the door back instead of leaving it open. And they don't take their boots off and leave them by the door."

"Oh," Aerith nodded, wincing at her mistakes. "Yeah …"

"Aerith, what are you doing?" he asked in a husky tone, eyeing her carefully. He was surprised she knew where his apartment was even higher ups in Shinra didn't have access to that information. It excited him to think that _she_ must have spied on _him_, for a change.

The brunette sauntered toward him, swaying her hips lazily. "Oh, Tseng," she sighed. "I wasn't aware that I was doing anything," she replied as she grabbed his tie, pulling him closer to her. "That wasn't wanted."

He smirked at her, she did move fast. Those innocent green eyes belied her true nature. He was lying to himself if he said he didn't want her more than he had wanted anyone his entire life. Or that being this close to her wasn't what he dreamed of and wasn't also the cause of his endless tossing and turning and inability to sleep at night. But, she was still just a young girl, and he was a grown man well into this thirties.

He could smell flowers in her hair. It was too much for him to handle. He pushed her back gently. "You want to thank me for saving you back there," he told her, as he held onto her shoulders. "Then don't, it was my job, that's all." He took off his tie, and unbuttoned the first and second buttons loosening his collar. He took off his jacket and threw it onto the bed. He walked into the kitchen, turning on the light. "You want something to eat," he called to her as he took a look through his fridge.

Aerith just stood in the dark where he had left her. _Damn_, he didn't have anything to eat because he never went to the market. His work took all his waking time. He turned around, fishing a phone out of his pocket. "I'll call and order something. What do you like?" he asked as he looked back at her. The phone dropped back down at his side, the dial tone beeping incessantly at him. He flipped it off. Aerith was still standing there, her head down. She was sobbing quietly and was trying to wipe her tears on her arms but they kept rolling down her face.

He walked over to her and embraced her, pressing her head into his chest, her face getting his shirt wet with tears, but he didn't mind. She was so light in his arms. He took the pink ribbon from her hair letting her soft light-brown curls fall down her back. "There, there," he cajoled her, stroking her back lightly with his index finger, finding her spine and tracing lines up and down it. "What's the matter?"

Aerith shuddered at his touch, pressing her hips into his. Her sensitivity to his touch made his blood run hot and he looked into her eyes and saw that they were wide and watery. He leaned down and kissed her softly on the lips. He knew it was wrong, but he was only human. She tasted salty from the tears. Her mouth opened into a little hole and he licked her lips gingerly testing to see if he could slip his tongue inside. She opened wider and his tongue met hers. She sucked on his tongue softly and the feeling sent shivers throughout his body. He took a step back forcing her to take a step back and the back of her knees touched the bed that was behind her. She instinctively sat down and he leaned over her. They were still locked by the lips.

He broke apart from her and she lay on his bed. He lay down beside her. His fingers deftly undid the buttons of her pink sundress. He then took her dress, folded it and placed it on a chair beside the bed. When she was exposed to the night air her body shook. He lay back down, staring at her lovely body, drinking her in. Her skin was pale and porcelain. She was very slender with small, round breasts, but her hips were a woman's hips. She lay there shaking, not from the cold; he always left the heat on, but from pure need, the need of his touch.

Her bra and panties were made of peach silk and lace. She might have been poor, but what she did buy was good quality. She had more class than any 'high society' cow he had ever known. He touched her bra and traced the lace lining with his finger. Her breathing got heavier. He smiled at her. "Such a sweet girl," he whispered in her ear as he unhooked her bra clasp from the back. He slid the straps softly down her shoulders and took her bra off, turning around and placing it neatly on the chair beside the bed.

He turned back to lie at her side again. Her nipples were small, dainty and pink. Her hands reached for his pants and he jerked back from her. "Patience," he scolded her, "my sweet girl," and then he kissed her check.

"But I want to touch you," she cried. He saw the need in her eyes and he knew that she was ready. He slid down to the end of the bed and slipped off her panties. He placed them neatly on the chair beside the bed underneath her bra. He returned to her and took in the sight of fully nude Aerith lying before him on his bed. She was like an angel. In that dark room it looked as if her skin glowed from within. The neon lights still flickered from outside and the colors danced on her skin that was as pale and stark as an artists' canvas.

This moment was his. She was his angel. He would love her until the end of time, no matter if she left him, or if anything were to happen to her. He would never love another. He sat in front of her and told her this. Aerith sat up too as she listened to him. Her face reddened at his sincerity. "I'll love you too, forever," she said with a stern face. "I promise."

"Now, I will **make** love to you," he said as he began to take off all of his clothes. She lay back down and closed her eyes, biting down hard on her lip, waiting for it.

"Aerith," he then said stroking her hair. "My sweet little angel. You've make me the happiest man, do you know that?"

She looked back up at him. Her eyes searched his. "I have?"

"Yes," he replied and sat up on his elbows over her. She reached up and undid his ponytail and as she did, his jet-black hair, being so silky and smooth, fell swiftly down and pooled around his neck and shoulders. She giggled softly. He smiled at her playfulness and took her hand and kissed the top of it.

They made love that night for the first time. When it was over he kissed her all up and down her face, her breath in ragged drawls as was his. He spoke sweet words to her, anything he could think of. Songs, poems, words from the play, _Loveless_, anything he could think of that was beautiful. No words could surpass this moment, or her.

She smiled up at him, listening to him and in the distance more sirens could be heard, but sheltered in that small room they were lost to what was going on out there.


	7. Chapter 7

"You ….said …forever," he told her in between breaths.

Her head fell and she got out her staff, healing his wounds. "Aerith?" the boy called out to her. "Are you okay?"

She wiped away her tears. _So, she is crying for me_. "Goodbye, Tseng," she said as she got up to leave. _No, don't leave, not yet_. He wanted to reach out for her, make her stay if he had to, but he didn't have the energy or power to do that now. He watched as her figure disappeared into the temple.

_Damn_! He was loosing her. His wounds were better and he could move his body, but he was so tired. He fell asleep before he knew it.

He was dreaming again, another memory.

_They were on the copter after the talk with Avalanche. His hand hurt from slapping her but he knew the sting on her face hurt her more. How could she betray him like this? After all these years of keeping her safe, she runs off to help Avalanche. Now, with her finally at Shinra he could at least keep a closer eye on her. _

_She sat in the corner, her head facing the wall. The copter blades whirled above them. He sat beside her. He wanted to reach out and comfort her, and hold her in his arms like he did before, and tell her she was going to be safe. But he was too upset with her to do that now. _

"_The Planet is dying," she then said softly. He barely heard it over the noise. _

"_Aerith," he replied shaking his head. He didn't feel like arguing with her. _

_They landed and he escorted her inside the building. Two of his fellow Turks were there to take her away. "I'm handling this," he told them. _

"_Direct orders from Heideggar," the short blonde one said after a salute. "We are to take the Ancient to Professor Hojo." _

"_The Ancient is my duty!" he declared, barring them from getting close to Aerith. _

_They stepped back. Hojo then stepped out from behind them. "Ah!" he ran over to Aerith, she squirmed under his gaze. Hojo adjusted his glasses and he could have sworn that the mad scientist was drooling over her. He had seen that look in his eyes before – after the incident in_ _Nibelhiem five years ago when he found two "new specimens". It sickened him. "This is her!" he exclaimed in a fit of intrigue. "Hmm, yes," he said as he took her by the arm, "she will do. She will do quite nicely."_

_Hojo looked at him as he followed them in. "We won't be needing your help anymore," he said as he patted his shoulder. "Your records were very precise."_

_He stood there and watched as Aerith was lead away by Hojo. They had his records of Aerith? No wonder they sent Reno after her out of the blue. They'd gone over his head; it was probably an order from Heideggar. He had to do something. He had to think._

His eyes opened slightly. The glaring white light made him shut them once again. He heard voices all around him, mostly frantic, but one voice was sad. It was a voice he was familiar with. He drifted off again wanting to be overcome by sweet slumber.

* * *

She sat beside Tseng in a private room in the Infirmary. She had been there every moment she possibly could have been outside of her work. She'd brought a change of clothes so she could sleep on a cot they'd wheeled in for her and she didn't even leave for food, eating nothing but hospital food for the past three days.

"Tseng," she said softly stroking his head full of silky black hair. She had always wanted to run her fingers through his hair, but not like this. "Oh, Tseng," she sobbed, collapsing on his chest. "Please wake up."

"Ahem," a voice cleared. Someone else was there inside the room. She looked up to see Rude standing there. Her eyes were full of tears, red, and sore. She hadn't showered and she didn't wear makeup or even brush her hair after this had happened. She probably looked (and smelled) terrible, but she didn't care, not anymore.

"What is it?" she asked, pulling herself from Tseng's chest.

"New information for you," he said. "Cloud has been spotted at Icicle Village on the Northern Continent."

She immediately stood up. "I have to go, and pay my regards," she said looking back at Tseng. She then looked up sincerely at him, "Please watch out over him for me while I'm gone."

Rude nodded solemnly. "Yes."

* * *

His back hurt. He opened his eyes. He was in a hospital room, looked like it was in the Infirmary. He was alone. _How long had he been here_?

The door opened and Rude walked in holding a cup of coffee. He nearly jumped when he saw him sitting up in his bed. "Sir!" he exclaimed, almost spilling his coffee. He set it down on the bedside table. "You're awake."

"Yes," he said and smiled. It was good to be back, for once. "How long was I out?"

"About three or four days," Rude replied.

"I hope I didn't miss anything," he said, half joking, but Rude just fidgeted nervously at the question and cleared his throat. _Odd response_. Not to waste any time he then said in his 'work voice' to Rude, "Now give me a report on what happened ever since the Temple of the Ancients."

"Sir," Rude's agitation increased. He then sat down on a cot beside the bed.

He regarded at his colleague's apprehension warily. "Come on," he said trying to coax it out of him, "tell me all and spare no details. I need to know Avalanche's whereabouts, and Sephiroth's. I've been out for too long."

"Well," Rude began. "Upon your departure from the Temple of the Ancients, Cloud's company successfully retrieved the treasure inside, something called _black materia_. Although Sephiroth now is in possession of said materia."

"Hm," Tseng thought for a moment. _Black materia_, that didn't sound good. "What is Rufus doing about it?"

"Rufus, Heideggar, Hojo, and Scarlet have all taken the airship and are currently flying to a cavern on the Northern Continent. It is the supposed location of the _real_ Sephiroth. The Sephiroth we having been chasing was just his shadow, or Sephiroth's subconscious that escaped from his body, as Hojo has explained to us."

"This is just getting more complicated by the minute," he exclaimed as he began to get up. "I need to start working right away. That is all."

"Sir," Rude got up off the cot, letting Tseng get out of bed. His legs were weak but he found his feet and stood up. He forgot he was in a hospital gown and he felt rather silly standing next to Rude in it.

Rude moved to let him get by but he didn't leave the room. Tseng looked at him curiously. _Was there something else_? "Do you have anything else to report?" he asked.

Rude shifted nervously. "Well," he said. "There is one other thing."

"Yes?"

"Aerith," Rude began. He stopped and then started again. "Aerith is dead."

It was as if he was in a vacuum, and that all the air in the room was sucked out. "What?" he asked taking a step closer to Rude. "I didn't hear that last part," he said. _Surely that couldn't have been what he said_?

"Tseng," Rude said, his voice was soft and gentle, very unlike his normal deep voice. "Aerith was murdered by Sephiroth."

_What_? "No!" he screamed. Rude just hung his head. "This can't be!" He looked at Rude, but the man's face showed no signs of humor. "No," he said as he fought back tears, but couldn't stop them, "this can't be." He covered his face. "Leave me," he then said. Rude nodded and slowly walked out of the room.

* * *

Elena walked down the hallway. She had had an awful time at Icicle Village. _Damn him_! That Cloud was going to pay for making a fool out of her. She was on her way to the Infirmary. She'd been gone for almost a day and was anxious to see Tseng. She then found Reno and Rude on her way there, hanging out by the coffee machine. They were talking about something in hushed voices, very unlike their normal selves. "What's up," she asked, breaking their conversation.

They broke apart and just looked at her. "What," she asked feeling conscientious about her appearance and automatically smoothing her hair down with her hands. _She should have at least brushed her hair_. "What is it?"

"Good news," Reno said, but his face was not genial. "Tseng's up, but I bet he wishes he wasn't."

"Tseng!" she exclaimed, jumping up. "He's awake?" She was going to run to the Infirmary after him. "Oh," she sighed. " I have to go see him."

She was met by Reno's hand barring her from leaving. She looked up at him confusedly. "Tseng needs some time alone," he told her matter-of-factly.

"But, I …"

"Listen," Reno took her by the arm, pulling her aside for a moment. Rude turned around to his coffee, not wanting to intrude. Reno looked her in the eyes. "He was just told of Aerith's death. Tseng needs to be left alone for a little while."

She pulled her arm away from his. "No," she responded. "What he needs is me!" _I was there for him_, _and I can be there for him now_.

"Elena," Reno warned her. She didn't like his tone. "You can't help him even if you tried."

She was angered by Reno's candid manner. "How do you know?"

Reno laughed at her. "You don't know, do you?"

"Know what, that he liked her, of course I knew, but she sided with the enemy, so…"

Reno laughed at her. "Yeah, figures you don't know. Have you read his files on Aerith yet?"

Elena shook her head. "Well, then maybe you should before you jump into wanting to help Tseng."

He was right. She hated to admit when that happened. "Oh and Elena," he said as she was mulling it over in her head. "Take a shower, please."

She felt like punching him, but she just laughed. She was too tired, and happy, and curious and confused to fight. "You should always look after yourself first," he said as he pointed at her, touching her chest. It sent a shock throughout her body, the unexpected contact. He seemed to notice it too and stepped back from her.

_I should go, _she thought. She felt awkward just standing there. "Oh wait," she asked before she left. "How did you know I wanted to read Tseng's files?"

Reno just shrugged. "I read your journals."

Her face grew hot. "Reno!"

"What they were in your reports. It's open knowledge, sweetheart." He then smirked at her. "You _do_ say an awful lot about Tseng,"

"God," she exclaimed. "Is this what you two do all day? Gossip?"

Reno smiled. "Nothing better."

_Ugh_. "Well," she said crossing her arms, "you could start by doing your job."

"Way ahead of ya', sister," he told her knocking her lightly on the head. "At least I've read Tseng's files on the Ancient already."

She sighed, not wanting to fight anymore and just left, she was headed down to the Scientific Research Center to pick up the files. Reno then stopped her. "They don't have them anymore," he said as he caught up with her. "I have them and I'll give them to you."

Elena conceded. "Thank you," she replied.

"But first," he said with a smile. "You have to do something for me."

"What, take a shower?" she asked.

Reno smirked, "That and …" he paused. "Go to dinner with me, tonight."

Elena was stunned. She had two dinner proposals from two different men, although her date with Tseng had been postponed. "All right," she couldn't believe she'd said it so plainly.

He looked pleased at her response. "You can find his files in my locker, I'll leave it open for you."

She just nodded.

"And I'll wait for you after work, then we can go somewhere – my treat."

"Okay," she sighed, "Reno." He winked at her and turned to walk away, humming a tune to himself.


End file.
